GB: New Equipment
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: Unexpected emergency field testing of Dr. Egon Spengler's new equipment while on a bust proves itself invaluable as a life saving device to a very stubborn Dr. Peter Venkman and a very relieved Dr. Ray Stantz. After being attacked and injured by a ghost Peter will develop a new respect for Egon and Ray's work on their tools of the trade.


A slow, boring lull of normalcy and predictability had swept over New York City. After having bested the spirit of Ivo Shandor; the very Shandor who had founded the Gozer cult of the late 19th century, the Ghostbusters were using their available time to experiment with the latest data collected from said encounter and enhance, if not completely advance, their own technology and tools of their trade.

Sitting on the desk in Dr. Egon Spenglers's lab; a lab discreetly tucked away behind the open space office belonging to colleague Dr. Peter Venkman, Dr. Ray Stantz patiently waited for Egon to finish fine tuning a bundle of wires and attached sensors on his latest device.

"You about finished there Egon?" Ray asked impatiently as he struggled to glance over Egon's shoulder at the project the physicist was busily fine tuning.

"Yes. I just need to make a small adjustment, and... there." Setting aside the small screwdriver he had been using to adjust the read outs for the device in question, he turned around in his chair and presented the wires and four small sensory pads for Ray to see. "We're ready to begin."

"Great. What do I need to do?"

"For starters I need you to take off your shirt."

"My... shirt? Okay..." Ray arched an eyebrow inquisitively. "May I ask why?"

"These sensors," Egon began to explain confidently and succinctly. "are remotely monitored biological relays. To get a proper reading the sensors must be in close proximity to to the heart and remain in such proximity at all times."

"A portable ECG." Ray summarized as he followed Egon's logic. Slipping his white t-shirt off over his head a new question popped into his head. "Why do we need to have an active ECG at our disposal anyway?"

Placing the first sensor pad on Ray's upper chest Egon resumed his explanation. "Seeing as more often than not we are required to split off from one another while on a bust, it's crucial that we keep in communication with each other via radio and we must be also aware of the physical strain being exerted by each member of the team in the event of complete separation or injury." Placing the second sensor pad in place near the apex of the first Egon checked the wires attached. "If one of us goes down then it's imperative that he receives proper medical attention as soon as possible."

"I see." Ray understood the logic of the device and sat still on the desk as Egon placed the third sensor pad on the lower portion of his chest. "It's like a tracking device that can keep us all amongst the living while hunting down the dead."

"Precisely." Egon placed the fourth and final sensor on the opposite of the third sensor on Ray's chest. Connecting the four wires together to a small battery pack, Egon turned the sensors on and clipped the pack to Ray's belt. "Now, let's check the reading." Picking up his trusted PKE meter from the many tools that littered the desk Egon pressed a small, newly created switch on the side of the meter. "I have your vitals on display."

"Cool!" Ray leaned forward a little to glance at the display of the meter in Egon's hand. "What can you see?"

"Your heart rate, which has just elevated slightly," Egon gave Ray a slightly bemused look at his friend's enthusiastic reaction. "your blood pressure and your current body temperature."

"And you can isolate one reading from another?" Ray watched his own vitals on display on the meter. "You can know exactly which display belongs to each member of the team?"

"Yes." Egon confirmed as he made a few adjustments to the meter. "I will have the sensors placed on their own frequency which can be displayed on the PKE meters at any given time. Your frequency will be assigned at number one."

"Don't let Venkman know." Ray jested warmly. "He might get a little jealous."

Peter's voice unexpectedly answered as he strolled through the opened lab doorway. "Only a little? Are you saying there's someone more envious than me?" Sitting on the desk beside Ray he gave his colleague an odd glance up and down his exposed chest. "That's a good look for you. Seriously, why is it that whenever I leave you guys alone I always come back to find you in the middle of some bizarre, occasionally shirtless, endeavor?"

"Just in time, Peter." Egon returned his attention to his desk and collected an additional four sensor pads and bundle of wires. "I can add a biological frequency for you to the PKE meter."

Peter eyed the newly created sensors suspiciously. "A biological... frequency." He repeated in a somewhat confused manner. "Sounds painful Now what are you up to, Spengz?"

"I've constructed-"

Ray off Egon midsentence, knowing that the lengthy explanation would only dissuade Peter's cooperation further. "It's a portable ECG. That way we can keep track of each other, even we're separated on a bust."

"Oh. An electroencephalogram." Peter replied with a surprisingly positive manner. "Not painful."

Egon continued to explain his side of the situation. "I'll need to attach these sensors and add your personal frequency to the PKE meter for reference data."

Peter laughed a little. "Are you telling me that from now on, before we even suit up to go on a bust, we have to painstakingly attach these sensors to our bodies and hope they don't slip off during our run?"

"Not at all." Egon didn't even flinch as Peter attempted to point out some flaw in Egon's latest work. "After I add our own unique biological frequency to the meter I'll have the sensors sewn into the fabric of the black shirts we wear under our jumpsuits. The sensors will always be in the appropriate proximity to give an accurate reading, without the risk of the sensors themselves falling loose or becoming lost."

Peter gave Egon a slightly despondent look before focusing on another seeming problem. "And what about the power supply?"

"See this?" Egon pointed the power pack attached to Ray's belt. "This pack uses similar energy to our proton packs. It will power the sensors for an estimated two years before the battery will need to be replaced. Clip this pack to the base of the pack to recharge and, with the addition of a small radio frequency, will supply power to the device without the risk of loose or detached wires."

Ray gave Peter a smug grin as his every attempt to back out of the experiment failed. "Let's go Peter." Ray put his hand on his defeated colleague's shoulder. "Let's see some skin."

Peter returned the same grin to Ray as he began to slowly slip off his coat and tease lifting off his own shirt, while doing a little seductive dance. "No touching the dancers, big boy!"

Ray just shook his head as he hopped of the desk and carefully removed the sensors from his chest. "I'll find a way to secure the sensors to the interior fabric of the shirts."

"Good. As soon as I finish gathering the-"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Peter interrupted the conversation as he was mid way through lifting off his shirt. "What about Winston? Shouldn't he be here getting all 'natural' with us?"

"Winston will stop by tomorrow morning before heading off to Mexico with Rachelle." Egon answered with a strong affirmation as he patiently waited for Peter to remove his dress shirt.

" _Rachelle_?!" Peter was stalling as much as he was shocked. "Rachelle the client with the haunted flower shop?"

Ray nodded with a greatly bemused smirk on his face.

"The same Rachelle who, not only does modeling on the side but drives a shiny red Corvette and told me to drop dead, Rachelle?"

"That's the one!" Ray confirmed, his smirk never leaving his face.

"How does Winston get to sneak away with Rachelle to Mexico for a weekend?"

"A full week, actually." Egon corrected Peter's assumption with a flat response. "And my guess is he won her affection with a less abrasive manner than your own. Now," Egon held up the sensor pads meant for Peter. "let's continue."

"You know Egon, I think you spend way too much time in this lab." Peter whimpered as he fully removed his shirt. "And I for one am getting pretty tired of always having to deal with new pieces of equipment. What we have now works just fine! If it ain't broke, don't fix it, pal."

"I can assure you Peter," Egon placed the first sensor on his chest. "there's always room for improvement. One day you'll thank me."

* * *

 _-Four Months Later-_

Rushing through the second level of the abandoned warehouse Ray struggled to track the meddlesome ghost that had caused a noticeable disturbance in a very short amount of time. With his proton wand primed he attempted to take aim and fire, but the small ghost was too quick and easily evaded his eye line leaving only trails of cold ectoplasm in its wake. A puddle on the floor just a few yards ahead of Ray gave him an idea as to where the ghost had fled.

Clicking on his radio Ray made contact with Peter. "Venkman, I think it's heading your way!"

' _What makes you say that_?' Peter's voice crackled over the static filled radio. ' _The overwhelming stench of ectoplasm of the sudden chill in the air_?'

"I'm one floor above you! I'll meet you down there, don't move!" Ray clicked off his radio and jogged toward the stairwell on the far side of the room.

Peter sighed in irritation as he casually strolled about the ground floor of the warehouse, his attention far from the wandering ghost. He was tired. The rampaging single ghost had exhausted himself and Ray as they attempted to pin down the troublesome spirit.

Tugging at his t-shirt, still uncomfortable with the galling sensors now sewn into the otherwise soft fabric, Peter couldn't help but cave into his urge to complain. Peter clutched at his radio as he rambled on with his newest, but not the oddest, of his many complaints. "Ray, when we get back to the station remind me to tell Egon to stop messing with my clothes! I swear this shirt has gotten more uncomfortable in the past few weeks after Egon added his little science project to our wardrobe."

Ray ignored the call as he navigated his way down the winding, towering stairwell back to the ground floor.

Egon, who was scanning the perimeter of the warehouse and its property, was far away from his partners and could only be kept up to date via radio.

"Hey Egon," Peter tried to amuse himself while he halfheartedly continued to mill about the warehouse. "find any interesting spooks or specters outside in the bright sunshine while me and Ray are cooped up inside this dusty warehouse?"

' _If I find anything I'll let you know_.' He could detect the irritation and fatigue in Peter's voice even as he attempted to tease his friend. ' _As soon as the ghost has been trapped we can go home_.'

"Great." Peter held a tight grip on his proton wand as he absentmindedly walked the floor. "Then let's bag this sucker. Come out, come out wherever you are!" He taunted loudly to the ghost as he blindly walked about, not paying attention to his surroundings. A sickening 'squish' from beneath his boot drew his attention downward. "Gah..." A puddle of ectoplasm was pooling on the floor. "Why can't these ghosts learn to wipe their feet before coming in the house?"

A menacing growl that was uncomfortably close behind sent a chill up Peter's spine. Turning to look back over his shoulder he spotted the very ghost he had been tracking. Before he had the chance to turn around and fire a proton stream the angered ghost leapt at Peter and completely smothered him from head to toe in a dense layer of ectoplasm.

Falling to the ground onto his back Peter struggled to pull the thick, goop mass of ecotplasm from his face. The viscous layer smothered his mouth and his nose, making it impossible to breathe! Clawing futilely at his face he tried to draw in a breath only to choke and gag on the ectoplasm he inadvertently inhaled.

As Peter's movements became weaker, his body stiller, the ghost levitated away from its prey and watched as the human's life slipped away.

A bright light and rush of protonic energy erupted beneath the ghost as a trap had been stealthily slid across floor under the ghost and opened. In a final shriek of frustration the ghost was enveloped in the light and sealed away inside the trap.

"Venkman!" Ray saw his friend laying in a motionless heap on the floor. Racing to his friend's side Ray kneeled down and wiped the thick layer of ectoplasm from Peter's face and flung it from his own hands in frustration. Ungloving his hands Ray pressed his fingers to Peter's neck to check for a pulse, only to find no movement. "Venkman, hang in there. Just hang on!"

Pressing his ear to Peter's chest he heard nothing and dread set in. Ray carefully straightened Peter's neck and opened his mouth only to find more ectoplasm cutting off his airway. Reaching two fingers into Peter's mouth Ray scooped out a massive glob of the offending substance. Ray clicked on his radio, keeping the line open, as he unzipped the top half of Peter's jumpsuit to expose the black t-shirt beneath. Weaving is fingers together Ray began compressing Peter's chest.

"Spengler!" Ray shouted into the radio as he silently kept count of his compressions. "Venkman isn't breathing and he doesn't have a pulse!"

Outside the warehouse Egon instinctively switched the display on his PKE meter to show him the biological frequency that belonged to Peter. "Ray, step away from him!" He shouted in response as he began running toward the opened warehouse door.

"What? Why?!" Ray was as confused as he was scared, not wanting to stop the potentially life saving act.

"Because I have his vitals on display! He does have a pulse, it's just very weak and he's in ventricular fibrillation." Egon sprinted across the warehouse and spotted his two colleagues on the opposite side of the room. "I installed an emergency defibrillator to our sensory pads which I can remotely activate with the PKE meter."

Reluctantly Ray stood up and looked down at Peter was still laying unresponsive on the floor. Unshed tears began to pool in his warm blue and green eyes as painful helplessness washed over him.

"Charging to three-hundred and sixty joules..." Egon remarked as he switched on the compact defibrillator from the PKE meter in his hand. "And shocking, now!"

Peter's body arched as the jolt of electricity surged through his body in an attempt to correct the arrhythmia that threatened to stop his heart at any moment.

There was no change in Peter's condition.

Ray shot a concerned glance to Egon who was standing at his side with the PKE meter still in hands. "Nothing..."

"Charging again." Egon reset the charge and prepared the second shock. "Shocking, now!"

Again Peter's body arched upward from the floor with the jolt of electricity. As his body returned to the ground he began coughing and sputtering as he gasped for breath.

"Peter!" Ray was kneeling at Peter's side again and supporting his friend by the shoulders as he coughed violently. Drops of ectoplasm rained from Peter's mouth with each cough. "Try to relax," Ray encouraged. "we'll get you to a hospital."

Egon also kneeled down beside Peter and held the meter up in front of the resuscitated man as he took a reading on Peter's condition. "He's stable, but I fear the accidental inhalation and possible ingestion of the ectoplasm could make him dangerously ill."

Peter's coughing subsided as he took in deep breaths and allowed Ray to support him on the floor. "What the hell...?" He asked as he looked about the warehouse confused, only to look straight up into Ray's teary eyes and then over to Egon's emotionless face. "What did you do to me?" He coughed a little more and cleared his throat and pressed a hand to his heart. "My chest hurts..."

"Defibrillation." Egon answered with a calm demeanor. "The ghost who attacked you must've used a strong electromagnatheric to manifest itself. As a result it's own electrical frequency must've affected your bodies electrical impulses that controlled your heart rate, which was exasperated by your temporary suffocation."

"I... what?" Peter lifted his head with Ray's help. "Can you please explain that to me in smaller words? I do have kind of headache from lack of oxygen."

"I just saved your life." Egon replied with a coy grin concealed behind a stoic facade. "I told you that you'd thank me one day." Clipping the PKE meter to his belt he offered Peter a hand and helped him to stand upright, with Ray supporting his back gently. "But that can wait until after you've been medically cleared."

"After I'm..." Peter was at a rare loss for words and he knew that Egon was loving it. "Egon..."

"Let's go." Ray patted Peter's shoulder and helped guide him from the warehouse to Ecto-1, which was parked just outside the door. "I don't want to miss you swallowing your pride!"

 _ **-The End**_


End file.
